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Top 5 reasons to get a flu shot

1. Influenza, or the flu, is serious. Symptoms include fever, body aches, headache, cough, and sore throat. It can lead to a bacterial infection, such as an ear infection or pneumonia. In severe cases, the flu can cause death.

2. Getting a flu shot each year is the best way to protect yourself. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that children 6 months or older and every adult get vaccinated against the flu annually. It’s a virus that changes from year to year, so last year’s vaccination won’t protect you this year.

3. The flu shot is safe, and it can’t give you the flu.

4. By getting vaccinated, you protect yourself and you avoid spreading the flu to people who might be more severely affected. People who are at higher risk of problems from the flu include young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with long-term illnesses or impaired immune systems. But anyone can get the flu, even healthy people.

5. Flu shots are available at no cost to Kaiser Permanente members, and no appointments are needed.